Resort pools - Clorine or Bromine ?

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

DH & I built our pool around 2006-2007.... We purchased a Salt Water System....which I understand (to my surprise) does NOT Mean it is 100% WITHOUT Chlorine....

That being said... I asked in May (2010) while swimming at SAB (our Fourth time staying there) if it was a Salt Water pool... and was told "YES".

I was also amazed by the ducks who were swimming with us at SAB. It was the first time I had seen ducks in and around the pool. (Our other 3 visits were in July...perhaps that affected that).

So I can't really shed light on the question...BUT I can perhaps add that even if SAB is a salt water pool.... that does NOT mean it doesn't contain chlorine.

Either way I LOVE SAB and BC!
Hugs,
Mary

 

[livndisney]

don't you love it - when I asked got told only Bromine.

Nope I don't love it-as we have a severly allergic person in our family. I can tell you they do use chlorine. I have the list the Disney environment dept sent me around here somewhere. I can tell you the splash area at Pop is chlorine, the fountain at the entrance to Epcot is chlorine, the splash fountain at DTD just went to chlorine.

 

[luvdisney24]

I have a pool in my yard and it's chlorine. Every morning the same two ducks show up and swim.....until I make them leave of course. The chlorine doesn't seem to be affecting them at all as they keep coming back for more.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

Well, then check out www.swimoutlet.com. They often have the competition style suits for good prices. No tax and no shipping if you manage to spend $75 (I always do). They have great patterns and what you'd call recreational swimwear, too. My DD has had some of her polyester suits for 2+ years and they look brand new. And all she does is rinse them while on her body in the shower after practice.

Sorry OP!

Sorry from me too OP.

But, thank you mdrob214 for that link. My dd just started competitive diving and there isn't a store in our city that carries her size. Plus, there's only a handful of stores here once she gets into ladies sizes, so the prices are high ($75 per suit at least!). Thanks.

 

[RMulieri]

SAB does not use chlorine - due to the sand bottom they are able to use a saltwater system. Can't wait we'll be there soon

ANY pool can use a saltwater system.My pool in my yard has a saltwater sysrtem.It is STILL chlorine, just in the form of sodium chloride.A special generator turns it from sodium chloride to chlorine.We dump a 50lb bag of pool salt in at the beginning of the season, and depending on readings from the generator we adjust the rate it chlorinates at.There is a setting on it that allows us to "super chlorinate" which is essnetially shocking the pool with higher amounts.

 

[mjp12831]

SAB does not use chlorine - due to the sand bottom they are able to use a saltwater system. Can't wait we'll be there soon

People have a common misconception about these salt water systems - thinking that having one means that there is no chlorene in the pool. Salt water systems are actually chlorene generating systems - instead of you adding chlorene to the pool the chlorene is manufactured by breaking down the salt.

There does tend to be a lower chlorene count in a pool with a salt water system though.

Some public pools are now actually using UV light to sanitize water as well because of the public sensitivity to adding chemicals. The problem with this system is the water is sanitized as it is cycled through the filtration system but not as it sits in the pool. Not sure if Florida law allows this or if WDW uses it.

 

[minniejack]

One of our local pools definitely is chlorinated and there are still ducks in the early morning hours before the lifeguards shoo them away. So the ducks are not a good indicator.

 

[klatuu]

Bad assumptions
Chlorine and Bromine are both effective sanitizers but they serve different purposes. Chlorine is quick and effective and has better uv stability than bromine. Bromine lasts longer and sanatizes better at high temperature than chlorine. An outdoor pool will benefit from chlorine use while an indoor pool and especially hot tub/spas need bromine.
"Salt water" pools use chlorine as a sanitizer it is manufactured from salt (NaCl). The chlorine level is often lower than in a pool maintained with direct chlorine addition, but it will not compensate for heavy bather loads.
Chlorine or Bromine will both attack lycra in swimsuits. Most swimsuits have about a 4 hour "life" in chlorine before the fibers start breaking down, a little longer in bromine but the higher temperatures in brominated spas will also attack the lycra.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You'll find ducks swimming the BW pools, BC/YC pools, WL/VWL pools, OKW pools, SSR pools. Probably most of the WDW pools.

 

[JennyDrake]

I am a former pool inspector in 2 different states.

Ducks can swim in anything.

Chlorine is nomrally used to "shock" pools as part of routine maintenance or if *something* unpleasant (i.e. "poop") gets in the water. The vast majority of pools in the SE use bromine. As PP said, it is a more stable sanitizer in the heat as it does not evaporate as quickly as chlorine.

While I don't know the specific answer, I would be very surprised if WDW uses chlorine as their main chemical.

BTW, bromine DOES have a smell that is easily confused with chlorine.

 

[jkjs]

I would be very surprised if SAB uses salt water. We have a salt water pool and you can taste the salt in it. We didn't notice a salt taste during our visit a week ago. We also experienced a good bit of eye irritation.

Eye irritation is not typically caused by the chlorine level, it is caused by the chlorine stabilizer level (cyanuric acid). In a traditional chlorine pool, each tablet/bag of chlorine contains a certain level of cyanuric acid which overtime builds up to a level that irritates eyes.

With a salt water system, you maintain the cyanuric acid at a low level which is more friendly to the eyes.

Also it is very difficult to shock a system with a salt water generator. Typically, you shock a salt water pool with chlorine. Maybe SAB uses a salt system to generate back-ground chlorine but shocks with chlorine.

just my two cents as a pool owner based on experience.

 

[LindyN]

Well, they use something in Typhoon Lagoon that ruined a nice new swimsuit of mine last month. My eggplant colored suit has a bleached out part in the back. Went to TL twice and the suit survived the first trip but the second one made it fade.